Compositions and methods for planarizing or polishing the surface of a substrate are well known in the art. Polishing compositions (also known as polishing slurries) typically contain an abrasive material in an aqueous solution and are applied to a surface by contacting the surface with a polishing pad saturated with the polishing composition. Typical abrasive materials include silicon dioxide, cerium oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, and tin oxide. U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,423, for example, describes a method for chemically-mechanically polishing a metal layer by contacting the surface with a polishing composition comprising high purity fine abrasive particles in an aqueous medium. The polishing composition typically is used in conjunction with a polishing pad (e.g., polishing cloth or disk). Suitable polishing pads are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,062,968, 6,117,000, and 6,126,532, which disclose the use of sintered polyurethane polishing pads having an open-celled porous network, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,233, which discloses the use of solid polishing pads having a surface texture or pattern. Alternatively, the abrasive material may be incorporated into the polishing pad. U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,794 discloses a fixed abrasive polishing pad.
Conventional polishing systems and polishing methods typically are not entirely satisfactory at planarizing substrates, especially memory disks. In particular, such polishing systems and polishing methods can result in less than desirable polishing rates and high surface defectivity when applied to memory or rigid disks. Because the performance of many substrates, such as memory disks, is directly associated with the planarity of its surface, it is crucial to use a polishing system and method that results in a high polishing efficiency, selectivity, uniformity, and removal rate and that leaves a high quality polish with minimal surface defects.
There have been many attempts to improve the removal rate of memory or rigid disks during polishing, while minimizing defectivity of the polished surface during polishing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,046 discloses a method for polishing a nickel-plated layer on a rigid disk using a composition comprising alumina abrasive and a polishing accelerator such as nickel nitrate, aluminum nitrate, or mixtures thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,506 discloses a method for polishing a rigid disk using a polishing composition comprising a dispersion of an abrasive, an oxidizing agent, and a catalyst having multiple oxidation states. WO 02/20214 discloses a method for polishing a memory or rigid disk substrate using a polishing composition comprising an oxidized halide and an amino acid.
A need remains, however, for polishing systems and polishing methods that will exhibit desirable planarization efficiency, selectivity, uniformity, and removal rate during the polishing and planarization of substrates, especially memory disks, while minimizing defectivity, such as surface imperfections and damage to underlying structures and topography during polishing and planarization.
The invention provides such a polishing composition and method. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.